The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER forfeiting the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association's title on Friday, coach Lamont “Red-Head” Armaly said his RM Bailey Pacers will be back to win the prestigious Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic.

The 42nd version of the tournament, featuring 24 of the top senior boys teams in the country, is set to start today at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.

The four pools of six teams each will run though Monday, February 23, when the champion will be crowned. The Tabernacle Baptist Falcons out of Grand Bahama are the defending champions, having knocked off the CI Gibson Rattlers in last year's final. 

The pools have been divided as follows:

Pool One - St George's High, Charles W Saunders, Greenville Preparatory Academy, ISBET, CR Walker and Jordan Prince Williams High.

Pool Two - CI Gibson, Tabernacle Baptist Academy, Teleos Christian School, Balzer Elite Sports Academy, Patrick J Bethel and CV Bethel.

Pool Three - St John's College, Agape Christian School, Gateway Christian Academy Anatol Rodger, Eight Mile Rock and CC Sweeting,

Pool Four - RM Bailey, Sunland Baptist Academy, Queen's College, Westminster, Jack Hayward and Government High School.

Having played in the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association's best-of-three championships that they forfeited to CI Gibson due to suspended players, the top ranked RM Bailey Pacers have issued a statement to the rest of the tournaments coming.

With only eight players to work with all season because of a ruling that didn't allow his transferred students to play, Pacers' coach Lamont 'Red-Head' Armaly said all of his players will be eligible to participate in the tournament.

"I'm going to make the prediction that RM Bailey will win the tournament," Armaly said. "We only played with eight players all season long and we were the number one team in the GSSSA.

"We will have all 15 of our players available for Hugh Campbell so we are going there to win it."

However, tournament director Paul Adderley said they expect all teams to abide by the rules of the GSSSA.

Adderley said while the tournament will kick off today, they expect the teams from Grand Bahama, one from Abaco and the other from Bimini, to intensify the competition for the rest of the week.

Adderley said they are in contact with the teams in Grand Bahama, Bimini and Abaco and if there are any issues with their teams, they will have to consider it. 

Armaly said he visited Grand Bahama and he got a chance to view the teams in action and he's confident that the way his team is playing and with the added players, there's "no team out there who can beat us. We are going to win this year's Hugh Campbell."

Sunland Baptist and Sir Jack Hayward played in the Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Sports Association best-of-three championship series.

Meanwhile St John's emerged as the champions of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools, having knocked off Charles W Saunders in the third and deciding game.

"We are expecting the competition to be very intense," Adderley said. "We watched the private schools, the GSSSA and the Grand Bahama schools and so we're looking to see how the champions and the runners up pan out," Adderley said. 

"We are looking to see if any of them make it to the championship."

• Here's a look at the schedule of games on tap for today's opening of the tournament:

MONDAY, February 16

4pm - Greenville vs CR Walker

5pm - Jordan Prince Williams vs ISBET

6pm - CV Bethel vs Teleos

7pm - CC Sweeting vs St John’s